ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that the current crisis in Central America can be traced to processes that evolved from basic structural inequalities, the enclosure of traditional peasant lands, and the modernization of agricultural labor relations resulting from this export focus. It presents a critical set of interrelationships among land tenure, unemployment, demography, and poverty. The book examines the relationships between economic growth, a highly skewed concentration of wealth, and the poverty of the rural and predominately indigenous population. It also examines efforts by the Nicaraguan government to guarantee prices that stimulate producers to grow staples but that also are low enough for consumers. The book discusses the massive investment in irrigation infrastructure, which represents between 70 and 99 percent of the total Mexican agricultural budget between 1940 and 1979.
